Undergraduate Catalog 2015-16 
    
    Mar 19, 2024  
Undergraduate Catalog 2015-16 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Glossary


Academic Advisor (advisement) - A faculty member who explains university policies, assists with transitional issues, and who helps assure that students enroll in the course or courses necessary to achieve their academic goals relevant to their major, program or degree.

Academic Honesty - Academic honesty is the absence of, though not limited to, cheating and plagiarism. Sanctions for students who violate the principals of academic honesty range from failure of course work to dismissal from the University.

Academic Standing - Students whose cumulative index is below the minimum established for the number of credits they have earned or attempted are subject to probation, or dismissal.

Academic Support Center - provides academic counseling, tutoring, and services for students with disabilities.

Accreditation - The New England Association of Schools and Colleges accredits Castleton University as a recognized institution of higher learning.

Admission - Admittance to a program or the university that is granted by the University, after a student meets specified requirements.

ADP - American Democracy Project - Initiated at Castleton in 2003, ADP is designed to increase attention to moral development, civic engagement, and political action.

Amelioration - A chance to erase the negative effect of a poor semester.

Associate's Degree - Degree program requiring 64+ hours at CSC of specified course work.

Audited Course - Students who do not wish to receive credit may audit courses in which space is available. Those auditing courses are not required to take examinations or prepare assignments.

Bachelor's Degree or baccalaureate - The degree of bachelor of arts (B.A.), bachelor of science (B.S.), or bachelor of social work (B.S.W.), requiring 122+ hours at CSC of specified course work.

Change of Academic Program (CAP) - Form used to add or delete parts of a student's academic program (e.g. majors, minors, etc.).

Changes in Enrollment Status - Full-time students may change to part-time status or part-time students may change to full-time status by registering for the desired credit load.

Computing Requirement: To satisfy General Education requirements, students must complete a specified 3-credit computer course, or a computing intensive course.

Conditional admit - A student admitted to the University, who is generally limited to 14 credits of course work during the first semester.

Continuous Progress - To maintain continuous progress, a student must be enrolled for one or more courses, or be on an official Leave of Absence, every academic semester from the time of matriculation to the completion of degree requirements.

Course description - Statement of topics, themes, and requirements of a course.

Course Exemption/Substitution - A student wishing to be exempted from certain academic requirements or to make course substitutions must complete a Request for Exemption/Substitution form available in the Registrar's Office.

Course offerings - Undergraduate or graduate list of courses being offered during the fall, spring, or summer terms.

Credit- Academic credit is given for graded courses in which students enroll and may be applied toward the fulfillment of degree requirements. Credit is not earned in courses where the assigned grade is F, NP, DR, I or in cases where a grade is not submitted (NG).

Dean's List - Matriculated full-time undergraduate students who have achieved a GPA of 3.5 for the semester on at least 12 credits taken on a graded basis, and who have received no "Incomplete" or "F" or "NP" grades.

Degrees with Distinction - 3.5-3.69 cum laude, 3.7-3.89 magna cum laude, 3.9 and above summa cum laude.

Distance education - A course where the professor and students are separated by geographic distance or by time, often supported by audio-visual technology.

Drop or Add Course - Students may amend their original schedule through the drop/add form. The dates and fees for amending a schedule through the drop/add process are set each year and appear in the Course Schedule Catalog.

Drop or Withdrawal - Discontinuing enrollment in a course. A full or partial tuition reimbursement is possible when specific deadlines are met. A student's financial aid or health insurance may be affected if the student attends university part-time.

Exemption and Substitution: A student wishing to be exempted from certain academic requirements or to make course substitutions must complete a Request for Exemption/Substitution form available in Financial & Registration Services and obtain the requisite signatures within a timely manner.

Final exam - Tests or other graded assignments for a course given at the end of a course/ semester.

Financial aid - Funds available from a variety of sources such as grants, loans, scholarships and on-campus work-study, (when criteria are met) to assist students with paying tuition and other university related expenses.

Financial & Registration Services - The financial aid, business, and registrar's office, located on the lower level of Woodruff Hall.

First-Year Seminar Program - Students who graduated from high school within the year prior to matriculating at Castleton and transfer students with fewer than 12 credits are required to take a First-Year Seminar in their first semester. The seminars are limited to eighteen students, and may be linked to a companion "learning community" course. Together, these courses form the nucleus of a student's first semester schedule. A special feature of the First-Year Seminar program is the weekly Common Hour meeting when faculty, staff and students address issues that affect the university community. Faculty members in the First-Year Seminar program serve as advisors for first-year students.

General Education Curriculum (the core) - The program of courses required of all students regardless of major. The purpose of this requirement is to broaden student knowledge and understanding.

Grade Point Average (GPA) - The ratio of the number of credit hours earned and the grades earned. Students receive a grade report which states semester and overall GPA's. For the formula to calculate GPA, see the Catalog  .

Grades - Grades or "indicators" are issued at Mid-term (advisory only). Official grades are issued at the end of each semester.

Graduate course - A credit course that may be applied to a graduate degree (a master's or other professional degree) that usually requires at least 30 hours of work beyond the bachelor's degree.

Honors - See Dean's List, Degrees with Distinction, or President's List or Honors Program in the Catalog.

Independent study - Courses which allow students to work independently with a faculty member.

Last 39 Credits: All students who are pursuing a degree at Castleton must earn 30 of their last 39 credits from this institution.

Learning Community - A Learning Community is formed when content is shared across courses from different departments or disciplines. Learning communities let students explore the different ways in which knowledge is formed and the different kinds of questions that lend themselves to being asked, depending on the method and the material.  LCs are usually an option for first-year students when two or more first-semester courses are linked to facilitate connections, both academic and social, during the first year.

Leave of Absence - Any student may request a leave of absence by completing a Student Exit Information form or submitting a letter to the Academic Dean. A leave may be taken for up to two semesters. A student may return from a leave with approval of the Academic Dean.

Matriculation - A matriculated student is one who has been formally accepted into the university by the Admissions Office and is currently enrolled or on an official Leave of Absence.

Noncredit - Courses taken that do not apply to a degree program, though they may be a requirement for admittance to such a program, especially if developmental work is needed. They may also be courses taken for one's own or professional growth.

Non-Traditional Student - Typically, a student who enters university after an absence of a year or more from high school, who pursues a university education while continuing to work, and/or while raising a family, or returns to the university after a number of years away from formal education.

Pass/No Pass - Certain courses may be taken for a grade of either Pass or No Pass instead of receiving a standard grade.

Part-Time Faculty - A person who teaches at the university on a part-time or semester-by-semester basis.

Prerequisite(s) - Requirement(s) necessary to complete prior to a student taking a specific course.

President's List - Matriculated full-time undergraduate students who have achieved a scholastic index of 4.0 for the semester on at least 12 credits taken on a graded basis, and who have received no incomplete or "F" or "NP" grades.

Prior Approval: Students enrolled at Castleton may be permitted to take courses at other regionally accredited institutions and transfer them to Castleton by completing the appropriate approval form available from Financial & Registration Services.

Registrar's office - Campus office maintaining student registration records and transcripts.

Registration - Enrollment in a specific course(s), usually occurring at specified times during the year.

Resignation - A student who withdraws voluntarily is required to submit a letter of resignation to the Academic Dean or complete a Student Exit Information form. No withdrawal is official until the resignation letter has been received and acknowledged.

Syllabus - Information on the material a course will cover, instructor expectation of students, dates and content of assignments, and information on contacting the instructor. It is usually given to students the first day of class (plural: syllabi).

Transcript - A record of student grades, courses taken, and credits earned (available at the Registrar's Office).

Tuition - The required charge to enroll in a course(s). The scale for part-time and full-time tuition (credits) is not necessarily the same.

Undergraduate Catalog - The Catalog, revised annually, contains information on academic programs, policies, and procedures. The Graduate Catalog is also revised annually.

Undergraduate degree - A two-year university degree (associates degree), or a four-year university degree (bachelor's degree).